Georgia Kenyon

​Whānau Ora Team Leader
, ​Whānau Ora Team

Whānau
Ora Team Leader Georgia Kenyon understands what it's
like to stand up against a health system that doesn't always seem to be on the
side of the people it's meant to be helping.

Two of
Georgia's four children were born with a disability. Her son is severely
dyslexic. He entered a school system in a time when dyslexia wasn't widely
understood, often misdiagnosed or ignored. Her daughter is legally blind.

Determined
that the children would lead fulfilling and normal lives Georgia started
navigating the health system for her own children first. Those
experiences inspired Georgia to help other whānau, and has proved
invaluable in her mahi at Tui Ora.

Georgia
started work at Tui Ora first as a kaiāwhina in 2016, taking on the role
as Whānau Ora Team Leader in September last year.

Trained
as a nurse, Georgia says she would have stayed on that career path but
advocating on behalf of her kids became a full time job in itself:

"I
became very involved in the education side of things. I didn't see why my kids
couldn't have a normal education in mainstream schools with a bit more support.

"Just because my daughter was blind we didn't want her to
be reliant on services for the rest of her life.

"I
wanted to ensure she had the best chance of living independently on her own as
an adult. She left home when she finished school, and she is more than capable
of looking after herself."

On a
day-to-day basis Georgia is working with her team, assessing referrals, working
out who in her team is best equipped to help a whānau, and meeting clients
herself.

"We
are such a blessed team because we have such depth of experience and skills and
that's a real strength in supporting our families."

Inspiring
whānau is a big part of what the team try to achieve:

"We need to be realistic and it's usually one step at a
time. If you can get a whānau thinking about the wellbeing of their kids then
that's often a good way to get them moving.

"Ok
so you want to get your kids to play sport, then let's work on getting a car to
get them there, and on a job that can pay for the dance lessons or the cricket
bat or whatever it is."

Georgia
says that community today is an abstract concept, with many traditional
communities be it school, church or whānau being fragmented, weak or broken.
Much of what she and her team try to achieve is about putting that back
together.

"Every person has their rightful place to stand in their
community. Acknowledging that, respecting that and feeling part of something is
healthy, it's good, and it's what we want for our own families and for the
whānau we serve."